Going their own Way
by HarlequinR
Summary: One error can make all the difference.
1. Chapter 1

It was almost funny that a survey ship with a glitched navigational computer could turn out so lucky. The crew only realised the problem when they found themselves deposited in open space while navigation adamantly claimed the were in a solar system. A system they determined was still half again as far as they had already travelled. More critical though was the status of their drive core's static build-up, turning back was out of the question and going forward carried no functional safety margin. But what other choice did they have?

En route they had made calculations based on prior observations and dropped to maximum sub-light velocity as close as they could to the estimated orbital path of a gas giant. First contact (de facto) occurred at that point when the Girik came into contact with the Idavoll system's datasphere and a semi-adaptive advertising program triggered the computer's firewall into shutting down communications. First contact (de jure) occurred ten minutes later with a trio of system monitor craft boxing them into a coarse towards the polar orbital plate they had recently launched from, active targeting engaged.

While there was substantial questioning on the who, why and where of their arrival and a pointed discussion on safe flight protocol and the fines payable by those who ignore them, the Girik's crew were nonetheless left feeling that first contact had been rather played up in the history books. They would return with a reprogrammed navigation computer and firewall, a basic understanding of the League of Systems and a temporary licence to trade in system (necessary for proposes of refuelling).

The mineral survey of the system they had started in was good enough to bring the Flotilla in and begin mining, which escalated regularly as deeper veins were uncovered. At the same time the Conclave and Admiralty board were both heavily discussing this new discovery and if and how it might be of benefit or threat. No particular concern was given over informing the Citadel Council.

The decision was eventually made to send a small group of ships back with a cargo hold of rare earth metals and instructions to make a more formal contact and conduct an investigation on the possibilities of future relations. They returned with a much more detailed understanding of how the League operated, a provisional contract in the hands of the freighter captain for more of the same and a large section of new hull plating, purchased for the Flotilla's engineers to inspect.


	2. Chapter 2

''I don't quite understand the problem. I thought a contract of this size would be a welcome move into stable income for for your guild.'' Admiral Zaal'Koris could feel the stable mooring of the Guildmaster's office threatening to shear away from him. He should have known better.

''It's not that I'm looking to turn the work away but you need to bear in mind the scale of the task your asking for,'' the Guildmaster gestured at the hologram projecting from her desk. ''It would monopolize my entire crew to do it in the time-frame you've outlined, and that's talking into account all the new apprentices I've taken on out of your lot,'' he added pointedly. ''If I turn away work on through traffic our name is going to go out of circulation and that hurts the chances of future contracts. I can't afford the reputation hit.''

The Admiral sighed as he leant back in his chair, reminding himself that dealing with the League of Systems' convoluted practices was better than continuing as they had before. ''I'm authorised to negotiate on the details, maybe offer additional payments?'' he let the idea hang in the air for a moment. ''The Admiralty Board wants to minimise the time before the fleet moves into League space proper and I know the local planetary governments don't want the entire flotilla moving in system and sitting on their doorstep any longer than it needs to.

''The money isn't an issue,'' she assured, waving the idea way, ''the type of long term work we've had out of your fleet so far doesn't happen every day. If you could empty the ships entirely we can cycle it down to cold and just vent the atmosphere. That takes care of most of the crew safety issues that would hold things up and we can just strip the entire thing down in one go and work from the inside outwards,'' the hologram shedding gross plating and engine mounts under careful manipulation,'' and regardless of the noise they're making, the amount of platinum and rare earths you've been depositing into the Universal Exchange will keep the dirtsiders supplying you as long as you'll need.'' A pause as the hologram was replaced by normal lighting,''it's still going to be about half again longer that your wanting but, tell you what. We'll cover the fuelling and life support renewal before your liveships goes back into service. Doable?

''Doable. But we'll need time to organise that many people,'' an understatement, ''and I'll need guarantees and inital deliveries from the suppliers before anything starts at all, once a deal gets hammered out.'' So it begins again he thought, ''who would you recommend I approach?''


	3. Chapter 3

If there was one contentious issue amongst the inhabitants of Citadel space it was the Quarians. On one hand the Migrant fleet was unwelcome as a rule, strip mining any viable deposits without concern of prior claims, undercutting local workers and generally acting as a mobile grey market, at best. On the other hand pilgrims represented a rare opportunity to hire skilled (and disposable) labour with a good work ethic and eye for detail. This was of course only the most basic interpretation of things and hid a great deal of nuance, which suited many just fine.

For example in many cases no one asked how the Quarians knew where these deposits lay. While it's true that some claim jumping went on just as many occasions were the result of corporate sabotage and both paled beside the number of legitimate operations carried out. In a similar vein several fringe colonies only remained viable thanks to the expertise in infrastructure provided by the Flotilla in violation of the colony's corporate sponsorship contracts and repaid with buying power used on its behalf, prices marked up of course to cover the risks.

As for the pilgrims themselves many ended up overworked, underpaid and in positions they were barely qualified for as people bought into the stereotype of engineering excellence and took advantage of the grey position they held in labour laws. But importantly, not always and not everywhere, and several worlds became staple starting points for young Quarians with small, fluctuating communities and a number of corporations maintained a range of products and components specifically for sale to those returning to the fleet.

As a result the decline in pilgrims and Flotilla sightings, though not initially noticed for several years, had something of a mixed reaction. On the smaller scale it was generally taken as a bad thing, pushing up wage costs and indirectly leading to a minor resection amongst the outer colony region. By the time the Council had noticed and then confirmed the Migrant Fleet's disappearance and the complete lack of pilgrims, any discussions made were rather moot. At the higher levels of leadership a general attitude of 'no news is good news' prevailed, the fleet had been a legal tangle and permanent thorn in the Hierarchy's patrol planning. Though a watch for evidence of its location was maintained in case of illegal relay activation, prevailing thinking held them to either be deep in the Traverse or in the throws of an internal disaster.


	4. Chapter 4

The fight has been drawn out, inconclusive. He can't bring his forward fire arc to bear long enough to be meaningful, they lack the speed to strike at vulnerable sections without risking his broadsides. Nerve, luck and foresight will determine the outcome in one crytal moment. There it is, 'too slow, too tightly grouped ' his training and instinct say, 'they can't adjust out of their course in in time now.'

A sudden shift and the trio of frigates turn sharply out of their defensive posture, reflected light flares off silver hulls and static screams across the cruiser's scanners and communications in overlapping bursts of ECM.

''Hard to port! Rotate clockwise along the ventral axis,'' the scream of static dies in favour of the groan of tormented metal as clustered sub-munitions glanced the outer edge of the ring hull instead of bringing ruin to the sub-light engines. Damage and injury reports come in, non structural and minimal. A close strike but nothing like it could have been. A possibility accounted for in his plan.

The enemy lacks speed equal to their manoeuvrability and overestimates how much his ship is hindered by it's temporary blinding. ''Full ahead. Give me salvo fire as soon as targeting reinitialises, centre ship. Broadsides to engage targets of opportunity.'' The crew of the Ileen were competent, calm but focused with faith in their captain.

The first shot is a miss and then the middle ship is winged, its flight destabilised before being ended permanently, its companions peeling off on a sharp trajectory. 'Wait, that's not an evasion', they're coming right at him, 'probably crippled their manoeuvring capacity making such a tight turn.' Invisible spears of light stab into the hull and the spinal mount is useless against their angle, defence turrets unable to match their range. More reports, starboard accelerator mount useless, hull breach, explosive decompression where they targeted the sub-light manifolds in the flyby. GARDIAN lasers strike out but this is the type of weapon the humans mastered long ago and refractive nanocrystals spread the hits wide, robbing them of enough power to be deadly. The fight is all but done, the enemy can set their own pace and position, casualties reports climb, all that's left is to see honour done.

''Attention all decks, all crew return to standard running, reset systems off simulation protocols and get that grinning bosh'tet on audio,'' now for the worst of it, ''I Yield,'' who'd have expected people to break their own ships to get a good firing arc.

''You expected that trick to work twice my friend? Your sister-ship did it too well last week for the story not to get around, Alderson is still hearing about it.''

''Should have known better than to expect consistency from you lot Ericson. Still, managed to spread you to scrap before hand though, an acceptable trade off you think?''

''What are war-games for if not learning from the decisions that kill you? Next time I'll know how quick your trigger finger is, it's good for friends to know these things about each other before it really is life or death. Between ourselves let's call it a draw while listening to our commanders complain about our decisions. I'm on patrol for the next duty rotation but captains Shamme'Hom vas Jira and Jonas Karlson from the Svanr have been running some good joint operation planning, you should talk to them when you get the chance, I'll send an introduction.''


End file.
